Hi,

I'm looking for a source for some cheap multicore audio cable. Yes, I know that "cheap" is usually followed by "..and nasty" - but for this particular application I have a very tight budget....

Needs to be about 20-25m long, with maybe 4-6 lines "out" and 3 "back".

Either a "read-made" one, or just the cable and I'll add the XLRs.

You see loads of 8+4 ones on Ebay for around 100 quid - any comments on the quality? Any other sources?

Bruce.

Nothing quite right there at the moment, but BB List is an online pro-kit sales site. Seen more multis in the past, may be more soon...

Or Bonza who have a 40 way listed. Again, the list changes frequently.

in my experience, cheap multi is ok for permanent installs, but not too good for heavier use. The cheaper types uses on the 8+4 and 12 +4 seems a little better because the outside diameer of the cable is not too huge. The problems mostly stem from the fact that the conductors themselves are thinner, and physically not so strong. Bend the cable around a tight corner, as when you are hauling it in and it gets hung up, and the sharp bend compresses one side, but over-stretches the outside edge, fracturing it. One I use regularly was 32 core and only 3 months later, it's down to 27 working cores. Damn annoying! My most abused, but still working was made from studiospares own brand with soft rubber sheath, and very tough inner. Canford own brand has also proven reliable in another - this is quite a lot stiffer, and doesn't really bend easily.

Terralec (dot com ) do them -- Never used one tho so cant elaborate.

In the past few years, loads of cheap multis have come on the market, normally made in China. The truth is that they're actually quite respectable, and can be bought for less than the price of the cable and connectors. I know a fair few individuals and companies that use them and I haven't heard of any problems like Paul reported. I would say they're no more or less reliable than more expensive alternatives, provided that you treat them with appropriate care. All cables will be damaged if bent round too small a radius.

You could also have a look at StudioSpares who have a range of budget multis (Europa brand), and the quality is fine.

I used to get a reasonable amount of business making multis for clients, but this has pretty much dried up now that cheap ones are readily available. Such is the price of globalisation...

I expect we can get some otherwise try Sound Foundation - www.soundfoundation.com or sales@soundfoundation.com

To follow up this old post from several months ago (Summary: I was looking for a budget multicore) I ended up buying a cheap 30m chinese one, which is fine for my purposes.

However, today I got the "special offers" flyer through from CPC. They do various "stage cables" - usually 8 or 12 way, with XLRs or jacks. Not the best quality in the world, but useful nonetheless. A couple of them were in the "special offers" catalogue.

Now, the wording was very very ambiguous, but it looks like these are 8-way balanced cables, 15m long, with 8 male XLRs on one end and 8 balanced jacks on the other. 10m ones available too.

The "flyer" description was ambiguous, saying "stereo jack" where the picture was obviously unbalanced. It also didn't say whether it was a male or female XLR - but the main catalogue clarified that.

Not exactly the configuration I'd have chosen, but the cost was...... less than seven pounds! That was another ambiguity - it said "up to 50% discount", but the originals were about 30 quid.

Anyway - I've ordered one. At that price it would be silly not to. We'll see what it's like when it arrives tomorrow.... Even if I chop the ends off and use the cable for something else!

If it's any good, I'll let you know. If it's rubbish, I'll also let you know.

Bruce.

The 8 channel TRS plug to Male XLR multies are commonly used as output adapters for mixing desks that do not have XLR output connectors. I have mostly seen them in much shorter lengths however.

Mac

We also use one for taking the outputs from our monitor desk to our monitor amp rack.

I wrote....


It arrived today (1 day late - not CPC's fault - it ended up at the wrong depot). I ordered a load of stuff on Tuesday just before 5. It came in 2 boxes. One arrived yesterday morning, the other this afternoon. Tsk tsk.

Anyway - the cable.....

It is indeed an 8-way, screened pair cable. Not the best quality I've ever seen - the tails are a bit thin - but adequate for many purposes.

On one end are 8x unbranded male XLRs. They're a design I've not come across before - they are quite chunky, and unscrew in the middle, a bit like a neutrik-jack-style plug. Not too bad.

And at the other end are 8x unbalanced jacks . Again unbranded, but they look very like Neutrik clones - fat, and unscrew in the middle.

But as I said, they're mono - pins 1 and 3 of the XLR are joined at the jack end.

So it's not exactly what I was looking for, but it's a 8-way 15m multicore for less than 7 quid - you can't really complain. I reckon that by buying some female XLRs and spending half an hour with a soldering iron, I can turn it into a much more useful cable.

Bruce.

Bruce,

Useful to know that such stuff is around!

I used to use Horizon Music Europe for cheap(ish) multis, and found they were suprisingly good for the price.

Unfortunately, their UK office closed a month or so back, so I'm waiting to see if anyone takes on the role....

Simon

Bruce

Could you share the CPC part numbers ?

I don't seem to haver got this flyer, nor can I find the items on a CPC website search

Paul

Well, the one I got was

AV0825827 1 8-WAY XLR-JACK STAGE CABLE -15M

which looks like a "special price" version of the AV08258, which is in the catalogue

There was also the AV0825727 - which is really the AV08257, the 10m version.

However, both are now showing "out of stock".....

Bruce.

Horizon USA pulled the UK operations. They sent containers to pick up the stock. Except some of which was bought by our mates at a local hire company in the region. Contact me and I can PM you their details for good deals on the Horizon Multicore cable and mic cable.